Faith at the centre

Funeral homily for Mary Wilkolaski

 

Laudate Jesus Christus!

The Christian community gathers here this morning to pray for our beloved sister Mary, and to commend her into the loving arms of our Saviour. Today is Holy Thursday, the day on which the Church remembers and celebrates the meeting of Jesus with his disciples in the Upper Room, and the observance of the Passover meal that was to be Jesus last supper. Perhaps in a sense it is fitting that on this day when we remember Jesus gathered with his disciples around a table, we should also be celebrating Mary’s meeting with Jesus, since she too was well known among family and friends for her hospitality, for her culinary talent, and for her willingness to welcome so many to her table.

I’m sure that if Mary’s table could speak, it would tell quite a tale. There would be chapters about joyous celebrations that took place there, and there would be stories about worries that were shared along with a cup of tea or coffee. There would be adventures told about the woman who could find just the right words to speak to the hearts of those who gathered there, about her wisdom, and about her unfailing faith.

Unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. These are the words that Jesus uses in the gospel chosen for this liturgy. He wanted then to teach his disciples that faith born out of self-giving is at the heart of our call to follow in his footsteps. This kind of giving means that we must be courageous enough to be willing to step outside ourselves, outside our comfort zones, outside the normal routines of life in order to meet people right where they are. When we are able to begin relationships by stepping outside of ourselves, strangers quickly become friends and if we are courageous enough to begin the telling of our own stories, then these friends will quickly become close friends, even allies.

Telling our stories to one another necessitates the sharing of faith too. Faith was at the heart of Mary’s life. It was at the centre of the life she shared with her beloved John for more than 62 years. It was at the heart of the joy she experienced as she watched her son Stan grow. Throughout her life here on earth, she never wavered from her firm belief in Jesus Christ. In fact, from the moment she was baptised in Christ Jesus, she entered into his death. That image has always struck me as a bit baffling, but it is very true because every day of our lives, we die a little more to ourselves, so that we might live for God and for others. For those of us who believe and hold firm to this truth, the promise of heavenly life is also true: As Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.

We encounter glimpses of the heavenly life that awaits us each time we meet people of faith like Mary. Each time we encounter true joy and the certainty of God’s promise, we can’t help but believe. Jesus came to this earth to proclaim this good news to us. Should we not also be willing to share this joyous news with others? We don’t need fancy technology in order to tell this truth. In fact we live it, we breathe it every time we greet a new day with faith. All we truly need in order to share the good news of faith is the courage to believe it ourselves, and a willingness to step outside of our own comfort zones.

We give thanks this day for the gift that Mary has been to all of us, and for the example of faith she has lived in this community and elsewhere. We pray today that God will have mercy on her soul and welcome her into heaven where she will know the fullness of his peace and his joy, and where she will now wait for us, even as she intercedes for us, calling on the heart of the Blessed Virgin to add her prayers too for our protection. Pray for us Mary, that we too may always know that our Redeemer lives, and that one day … we shall look on God, our Saviour.